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LakerBlue
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 Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:27 pm Post subject: Kobe's going to guard the opposing team's best perimeter player |
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Sorry I don't have a link but I heard on Sportscenter MDA is going to have Kobe guard the opposing team's best perimeter player. I personally like this idea; sure he'll expend more energy and it might hurt his offense but two things:
A) if he lacks energy to score, he's more than capable of facilitating to open teammates instead.
B) Lead him to stop ball watching and playing free safety should force him to focus more
Although I wonder what this means for MWP.
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MyNameIsEarl
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Joined: 13 Jan 2013
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | D'Antoni: Kobe to take on bigger defensive role
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to make a push to get back in the postseason hunt, they'll have to improve their defense.
Therefore, the Lakers have turned to none other than Kobe Bryant to spearhead that defensive turnaround.
Bryant drew the primary defensive assignment against Kyrie Irving on Sunday and limited the Cleveland Cavaliers star guard to just 15 points in the Lakers' 113-93 victory.
In the wake of Bryant's outstanding effort against Irving, Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni has vowed to use the veteran guard in similar defensive situations.
"I think that really helped us," D'Antoni said. "It helped us against the Clippers with Chris Paul. (Bryant) wants to take the challenge, and it really helps us."
While Bryant has the defensive credentials to perform in such a role -- he's made the NBA's All-Defensive First Team nine times and the Second Team three times -- it's a surprising job for the 34-year-old to assume at this stage of his career.
Last season, Bryant was left off the NBA'sAll-Defensive First Team for the first time since 2005, as Paul and Memphis' Tony Allen bumped him to the Second Team.
The duty of playing lock-down defense also will cause Bryant, the league's leading scorer at 29.8 points per game, to expend more energy that could be used on the offensive end.
However, the Lakers are ranked sixth in the league in offensive efficiency with a 106.3 points per 100 possessions average. D'Antoni figures Bryant's scoring can take a back seat if it means his dedication to defense can help the Lakers' porous defensive efficiency -- 103.7 points allowed per 100 possessions, which ranks 21st in the NBA.
"He disrupts the whole offense on the ball," said D'Antoni, who added that Bryant will draw either Brandon Jennings or Monta Ellis when the Lakers host the MilwaukeeBuckson Tuesday."He'sdonethata couple games, so we'll continue to milk that one."
Lakers guard Steve Nash said that a more difficult assignment actually makes Bryant a better defensive player than when he's left to guard someone who is not as big of a threat.
"Kobe's a guy that likes a challenge, so to givehim a challenge I think sometimesisbest for us," Nash said. "Sometimes when he maybe is guarding someone who isn't going to demand his interest, he can wane a little bit. But when we put him in a position where he's challenged, he can be phenomenal.
"I think it's almost two-fold. I think he was the key to the game (Sunday). He took Irving out of the game and at the same time, offensively he was terrific. So that's the type of player he's capable of being on a nightly basis, as we all know, and I think for our team, his leadership and the way he took that challenge was phenomenal."
The challenge for D'Antoni in bestowing the new defensive responsibilities on Bryant is to try to limit his playing time so that the 17-year veteran doesn't get run down with 45 games remaining in the regular season.
Bryant is averaging 38.7 minutes per game thisseason, which ranksNo.1 amongstallguardsin theNBA.
"That's what worries me and that's why I took a long time to put him there and that's why, even now, I still have some trepidation," D'Antoni said. "But he's taking the challenge. I told him his minutes got to go down -- they got to go down. He doesn't love that, but he's willing to do anything to make us win.
"He's always going to be focal point or the lightning rod of a lot of things here in Los Angeles. But I've only found a guy that wants to win and as a coach, I couldn't ask for anything more than that." |
http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/story?storyId=8844744&city=losangeles |
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OregonLakerGuy
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:40 pm Post subject: |
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He is our best and most experienced perimeter defender when engaged and he only gets engaged when challenged.
If D'Antoni gets Kobe to buy off on this, the team defense will improve dramatically. Lots of good things happen when the bigs don't have to constantly rotate to cover driving guards. 
My only concern is wear and tear on an already overused Kobe.  |
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LakerFan87
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| Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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I like the move. Kobe will stop half-assing it on defense.
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Atticus
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:02 am Post subject: |
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This is the move I was waiting for from Kobe and MDA. Kobe can't guard the quickest PGs in the league consistently, but who can? He did a damn good job against Kyrie.
I'd rather have Kobe go all out on D and take a step back on O to let Nash handle things. Kobe will still get his and some nights we'll need him to go for 30-40, but as a team we're better off when Kobe scores 20-25 and we have more balance. |
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fsc401
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:09 am Post subject: |
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I wouldn't have been in favor of this idea if Kobe was still the only perimeter player who can run the offense and set people up. Just too much burden on his shoulder.
However with Steve Nash doing the majority of the ball handling now, Bryant can rest on a lot of offensive possessions, which I believe that will leave him just enough energy to guard other team's premier perimeter player.
And hey, let's face it, watching Kobe not slag off his man and gamble on D alone will make Lakers games much more joyful 
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"How often do you think he looks around hoping to hear voice familiar. He's lost all of his combatants. Fisher is gone, Phil Jackson is gone, Odom is gone. Very tough for Kobe Bryant." - Kevin Harlin. |
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dakidblu
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:19 am Post subject: |
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| Lol thought this was why we got metta for? |
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kobemania3-16
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:19 am Post subject: |
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With our record we must do it, but kobe will be DONE come playoff time.
its like MDA have no idea how to teach defense so he just trying things. |
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dakidblu
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:21 am Post subject: |
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| Lol thought this was why we got metta for? |
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silkwilkes
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:21 am Post subject: |
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| kobemania3-16 wrote: | With our record we must do it, but kobe will be DONE come playoff time.
its like MDA have no idea how to teach defense so he just trying things. |
not if they take his mins down as a result. He needs to only play 33-35 mins. Morris needs to step up. |
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Will2Win
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:31 am Post subject: |
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| If Kobe shuts down their best scorer, it will give the lakers such a huge advantage. Nash will already do the work of getting Kobe open for him, so kobe doesn't need to waste that much energy. While at the other end the opposing player gets worn done throughout the whole game having to deal with Kobe locking him down. |
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Will2Win
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:33 am Post subject: |
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| dakidblu wrote: | | Lol thought this was why we got metta for? |
whats wrong with having two lock down defenders. We have nash to do the offensive work anyways in terms of getting them easy open shots, requiring less energy on offense from them. You can never really have too much defense. |
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iManArebel
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:34 am Post subject: |
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Media says Mamba has been slacking on defense.... Mamba gonna shut em down
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AshesToAshes
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:37 am Post subject: |
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I'm ok with this.
In past years the requirement for a main perimeter defensive player to take the strain off of kobe was also due to the fact that kobe was broken.
Let's see how durable that knee really is. Damn we're going to miss the Mamba...
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BigBoi
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 12:40 am Post subject: |
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| I don't like the idea. But its something we're gonna.have to do now. At this point in his career we should be hiding Kobe on defense, not throwing him straight into the lion's den. The FO has failed us big time putting this roster together. |
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chekmatex4
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:16 am Post subject: |
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I like this idea. We need to improve on the defensive end and Kobe will lead by example. He is slower but hopefully he can use his size and experience to keep other guards from getting into the paint and breaking down the defense.
I also think Lakers play much better when sharing the ball. Anyone know what Lakers winning percentage is when Kobe gets 5+ assists? 6+? |
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watchME
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:20 am Post subject: |
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deng
gay
igoudala
batum
gilchrist
brewer
ariza
trade pau for anyone in this group from top to bottom. |
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Air Apparent
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:23 am Post subject: |
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Then Nash needs to take it upon himself to be more selfish instead of passing it to Metal Horrible Peace
Desperate move by MDA. Doesn't matter if Kobe shuts down the opposing teams best player and the rest of the guys (Nash, MWP, Dwight, Clark or Pau) don't do their part. In the end its a wash, you lose Kobe's offensive edge at the expense of what? Hey Mike how bout you shore up the "team defense"
Last edited by Air Apparent on Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:29 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Capt.Skyhook
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:24 am Post subject: |
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When Kobe is engaged defensively, the entire team is as well. His defensive energy is just as positive as him having a 15-point quarter.
But If DAntoni is going to do this he is seriously going to have to reduce Kobe's minutes into the mid 30s. And therein is the problem. The Lakers usually look awful when Kobe is on the bench, causing MDA to panic and insert him back in. MDA has said he always has intentions to keep minutes down but in the heat of the game does just the opposite. If MDA is going to ask Kobe to take on this role, then he must control his urge to just toss him back into the game at the sign of trouble.
Kobe can't play 40-plus minutes, chase waterbug PGs and be responsible for scoring 30. This isn't 2002. |
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Omar Little
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:32 am Post subject: |
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| chekmatex4 wrote: | I like this idea. We need to improve on the defensive end and Kobe will lead by example. He is slower but hopefully he can use his size and experience to keep other guards from getting into the paint and breaking down the defense.
I also think Lakers play much better when sharing the ball. Anyone know what Lakers winning percentage is when Kobe gets 5+ assists? 6+? |
10-6 with 6+, 12-9 with 5+, 4-12 with 4 or less
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kobemania3-16
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:41 am Post subject: |
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| chekmatex4 wrote: | I like this idea. We need to improve on the defensive end and Kobe will lead by example. He is slower but hopefully he can use his size and experience to keep other guards from getting into the paint and breaking down the defense.
I also think Lakers play much better when sharing the ball. Anyone know what Lakers winning percentage is when Kobe gets 5+ assists? 6+? |
you mean when hitting wide open shots 
we shared the ball the last 4 games and won just 1 of them.
kobe could easily go off with all the bigs out but he let nash run the offense. we are sharing the ball just missing wide open shots, even JVG was disgusted by that. |
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Mamba3301
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:10 am Post subject: |
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LOL Kobe at the age of 34 is expected to carry the team offensively and defensively...and god forbid he has an off shooting night or can't play All-D 1st team type of defense for the entire game, and people will attack him.
What are the other guys paid for, especially the one making $20 million? Pathetic. |
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ForrestHump
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:22 am Post subject: |
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| Mamba3301 wrote: | LOL Kobe at the age of 34 is expected to carry the team offensively and defensively...and god forbid he has an off shooting night or can't play All-D 1st team type of defense for the entire game, and people will attack him.
What are the other guys paid for, especially the one making $20 million? Pathetic. |
Well Kobe almost makes 30 mil, so I guess if he's able to do both (lockdown D, score 30) that contract will pay itself off.
But it's still sad that Kobe has to work extra to make up for Nash's poor D.
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Rekindled
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 5:29 am Post subject: |
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| dakidblu wrote: | | Lol thought this was why we got metta for? |
metta cannot guard 3s at all though, he is only good at defending 4s. too slow |
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moonriver24
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| Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2013 5:31 am Post subject: |
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Well, kinda unbelievable for the coach to ask Kobe to be the doberman at this age. But I guess there is really no one on the team that can guard better when the assignment is a must.
But I hope the coach would remind everyone that it's still a team's job to defend.
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